Island of the Lost
by Steefwaterbutter
Summary: After a flight with Toothless goes awry, an injured Hiccup and his dragon must find a way to escape the dark and desolate Island of Lost. They will have to hurry, for storm clouds are gathering on the horizon...
1. Part 1

_Are you sure about this, Hiccup? Your dad's off negotiating with other tribes, the twins and Snotlout are who-knows-where with their dragons, Fishlegs is glued to the Book of Dragons, and my mother's making me help her out with chores. Ugh."_

_"I'll be fine, Astrid! I've flown with Toothless off this island a million times before."_

_"But never this far away. You don't even know if these dragons exist, or if this is just one of Trader Johann's 'exotic' tales."_

_"Even if they don't, it'll still be good to get out with Toothless. It's been over a week since we last flew together, with all the thunderstorms and such."_

_"Just promise me you'll be careful, Hiccup."_

_"I will. Be back by late afternoon, or earlier."_

Astrid hurried out of the house, then breathed a sigh of relief. The sun was dipping into the waves of the west, the horizon dotted with clouds. The voices of Vikings and cries of dragons carried across peir. Finally, she was done.

"How are you doing, Girl?" she asked, going up and patting her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. The dragon snorted, and nuzzled her in return. "I'll go see if Hiccup's up to a lap around the island before the it gets too dark, alright?"

Astrid walked down the dirt path, wondering if he had found the dragons, and what they were like. Trader Johann had said they were small, much like Terrible Terrors, but skinny as twigs. Huh, whoever heard of dragons as skinny as twigs?

Astrid arrived at Hiccup's house and swung the door open, shouting, "Hey Hiccup! Do you wanna-" Astrid cut off mid-sentance as she saw the house was completely empty. _That's strange, _she thought, playing with her braid of light blond hair. _I was certain he'd be here. Oh well, maybe he's with Gobber or Fishlegs._

However, the blacksmith knew not of Hiccup's whereabouts. "Haven't seen him since he left this mornin'," Gobber admitted. "I can't think o' where he'd be."

Astrid felt chilled. _He probably just looking over the Book of Dragons, _she argued with herself. _After all, if he found the dragons, he'd want to add it in as soon as possible._

She found Fishlegs still pouring over the Book of Dragons in the Great Hall, and eating a hunk of yak meat. "Hey, Astrid," he greeted, as she went over to him and sat down. "Want some?"

Astrid shook her head. Her stomach was churning too much to even _think_ about eating. "Have you seen, Hiccup?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Nope, been too busy updating the Book of Dragons. I can't believe no one's updated the Night Fury page until now."

"Hiccup's missing," Astrid muttered. "He left this morning, was looking for this new species of dragon. He said he'd be back hours ago, and Hiccup's _never _late!" She pushed the book away from him.

"What?!" Fishlegs yelped. "He could be eaten by wild dragons, or caught in a forest fire, or lost in a blizzard, or... marooned on an island, or-"

Astrid clenched her fist, resisting the urg to punch him. "We've got to go look for him, right away."

"What?!" Fishlegs yelped for the second time. "Oh no, no. It's getting to dark out, our parents will never let us, we..."

"Are going, first thing in the morning." Astrid stood up, and slammed her fist into the table. "We have to find him!"

* * *

Pain. That was the thing that called him back, pulled him back into the world. Firey pain that shot through his wrist. Lashing pain in his leg and hands. Pounding pain in his head.

The teenage boy heard a soft whimper. Hiccup tried to open his eyes, but gravel showered on his face.

"Toothless?" Hiccup croaked. His throat and mouth felt like sandpaper. Once again came the soft cry of the Night Fury. Hiccup cracked his eyes open to see the dragon peering over a ledge.

Hiccup sat up, rubbing his forhead, and groaned from the aches that rippled through his body. When he looked to the left, his heart nearly stopped when he saw he was sitting on nothing but on a small ledge, barely big enough to hold him. The edge dropped clean away to a dark abyss.

_How did I get here? _he thought. _And more importantly, how do I get out?_

When Hiccup looked above the wall seemed to hold enough bumps and cracks for him to climb up. He unsteadily rose to his feet and placed a shaking hand on the wall. However, as soon as he tried to begin pulling himself up, he yelled.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow," Hiccup yelped, pulling his hand away from the wall. The palms of his hands were scored with cuts and welts. _What happened to me?_

He tried placing his other hand on the ledge, and this one held, though the rocks peirced the cuts on his palm. Hiccup stepped in a crack with his good leg, then lifted his prosthetic. As he glanced down, he saw it was badly bent, and groaned.

"As if things couldn't get any worse," he muttered.

Sweat poured down his face as the teenager slowly made his way up the wall. Hiccup's stomach twisted, and his limbs shook at the thought of what would happen should he slip. The rocks dug into his tender hands, and the pain was nearly unbearable.

Tears were forcing their way out of his eyes, and he could barely breathe by the time he made it to the top. Hiccup managed to take a few steps away from the ledge, before he collapsed on his back, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Ow," he moaned softly.

The soft cooing of Toothless fell gently on his ears, and the Night Fury's face came into his line of vision, blurred from the tears running out of his eyes.

"You're okay," Hiccup whispered, letting out a long breath. The Night Fury seemed bruised and roughened, but not too badly.

Toothless gave him a gentle nudge and began slowly licking Hiccup's hands. His tongue swept over them rhythmicly, and Hiccup sighed deeply, allowing himself to relax.

Except for the dragon's gentle purring, everything was perfectly silent and still, and Hiccup felt the tension sweep out of his body. However, questions still tugged at mind.

_Where are we? And, more importantly, how do we get out?_


	2. Part 2

_The storm was__ upon them almost before they could think. One moment everything was calm: the sky blue, the waves shimmering below them. The next, darkness cloaked the heavens, the ocean tossed, the rain pounded them, wind grabbed at the boy and his dragon__._

_Hiccup clung to saddle with all his might, the leather straps digging into his hands. As the wind hurtled them through the sky, he soon__ lost all sense of direction, only conscious to a single thought:_ Don't let go.

_Despite his efforts, Hiccup felt his hands ripped from the saddle. A moment later the boy and his dragon were both in free fall._

_Time seemed to slow down as he plummeted through the air. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, he barely heard Toothless' roars. Hiccup's hands grabbed at the air for something, anything to hold onto, and the wind swept around him._

_ His hand came in contact with the saddle and he clung to it, feeling as if his arm would be break off at any moment. Black spots clouded his vision as he dimly sensed Toothless desperately tried to slow down. _

_Hiccup was barely aware of the impact when his body slammed into the ground. A moment later, and blackness swallowed him whole._

* * *

When Hiccup woke up, he found himself staring at Toothless' wing. The dragon had draped it over him, protecting him.

Hiccup pushed himself out, groaning a little, but moved carefully as to not wake the sleeping dragon. His limbs felt stiffer than iron. Mist dotted Hiccup's face and hair, making him blink.

In the east, streaks of light were appearing, shining through the cold and grey air. However, the light seemed just as cold and distant as the darkness that surrounded them. As Hiccup looked around at the landscape, he saw that it was covered in dark, dry, dust. Sharp rocks rose up from the ground and and charred stumps of trees were scattered about. There was no sound, no chirping and chattering of birds, no crashing waves, no grunts and growls of dragons. Everything was completely silent.

Hiccup's face felt stiff. He rubbed at it with his fingernails.

"_OW!_"

The dragon jerked his head up to look at Hiccup. Shaking slightly, Hiccup drew his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood, dark brown and crimson. Ripping off a strip of his tunic, Hiccup pressed it to the wound, and Toothless whined softly.

"Sorry, bud. It's not your fault," Hiccup whispered to the dragon, rubbing him just behind his head.

Light shivers ran through his body as he rose to his feet, and looked around. "Let's get out of here," he muttered. Forgetting his twisted metal foot, Hiccup stepped forward, but almost fell down. He grabbed a rock to steady himself and examined the prosthetic. It was hopelessly twisted and bent. "Well this is just wonderful."

With his prosthetic broken, Hiccup realised wouldn't be able to use the foot petal that enabled Toothless to fly.

Toothless walked up to him and nudged him gently. _Let's get out of here,_ he seemed to say.

"I don't know if we can." Hiccup placed his arm on Toothless' head, using him as a crutch. He took a few hops forward. Above them, the dark sky grumbled angrily.

* * *

It seemed they had been walking for hours before something white caught Hiccup's eye. He looked and saw a white tree to his left. At the sight of it, Toothless whined and drew back, but Hiccup hobbled forward.

It was the only tree Hiccup had seen that didn't look as if it had been burned to ash. It had a short trunk but long, twisting branches that glowed slightly. Its leaves were dark cyan, and large black apples hung from the branches. Just looking at it made Hiccup shiver slightly, but he stepped forward again, narrowing his eyes and saw that a picture of a storm cloud was carved into the trunk. Just then lightning flashed, and a crack shot down the trunk.

Hiccup scrambled back, falling on his hands. Toothless looked at him and growled slightly.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Hiccup protested, and the dragon rolled his eyes and snorted.

Just then thunder boomed so loud Hiccup yelped and put his arms over his head. Toothless moved closer to Hiccup, and growled again, as if saying, _Get up, you cowardly Viking! I want to get out of here!_

Hiccup scrambled to his feet and clambered on the dragon. Rain to began sprinkling down, the sky darkened. As the dragon began running, the heavens opened to let down a torrent of rain, pouring down so thick Hiccup could barely see.

Toothless began racing towards a large rock wall. Lighting flashed again, and thunder roared, causing the trees to shake. Toothless ran faster, and bolted through an opening into a large cavern, where he scrambled to a stop.

Hiccup slid off, his legs shaking so bad he could hardly stand. He leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, weariness tugging at his limbs. Water dribbled off his clothes and hair. Hunger gnawed at his stomach. The wound on his head throbbed.

Outside thunder boomed again and again as the lighting flashed. The rain pounded against the ground.

Toothless slowly walked up to Hiccup and curled up next to the boy. _Sorry,_ his eyes said.

"It's alright. At least we're not out there anymore," Hiccup told him, stroking the dragon's head. Toothless let out a gutteral purr, and Hiccup allowed his mind to drift, listening to the thunder and rain.

Sometime later, Hiccup became aware of water splashing around his foot. He looked down, and yelled when he saw that water was flooding through the cavern entrance. Beside him, Toothless snapped his eyes open and jumped to his feet.

Hiccup hobbled towards the entrance of the cave, but lighting stuck the ground so close he was thrown backwards.

"Alright, time for plan B: further up and further in," Hiccup muttered, climbing onto Toothless. The dragon took off down a side tunnel, sending out plasma blasts to light the way. Hiccup felt the ground sloping upwards, and the next thing he knew, Toothless was bounding up steps.

They came out in an immense cavern, the walls covered with torches. By their light Hiccup could see something like houses carved out of the rock. However, before he could get a good look, Toothless lept forward, nearly leaving him behind. When he glanced back, he saw why: not only was water pouring through the tunnel, the wall itself was starting to crack and crumble. Any moment the whole thing could come crashing down on them.

"T-this is just g-great."

The ground began shaking and cracks opened in the floor, water spewing out. Toothless jumped to the side, the ground opening up where he had been a moment earlier.

"How do we get out, how do we get out?" Hiccup moaned, dragging his fingernails down the uninjured side of his face. "T-this is all my fault. We should have n-never come here."

Toothless, who had been jerking his head back and forth, turned it to half-roar at Hiccup. Casting a look around him, Hiccup felt the breath whoosh out of his lungs. Not too far above them was an opening in the rock.

_But how do we get up?_

Hiccup grabbed a fistfull of hair, his mind racing. "I know what we have to do!" he yelled to Toothless over the roar. "Toothless, up!"

Hiccup grabbed onto a stip of leather, then leaned down and forced the petal down with his other hand, opening the tail. Toothless shot into the air, pumping his wings. Hiccup pushed again, and the dragon swerved, narrowly missing a falling boulder. Hiccup clung to the strip of leather until his knuckes turned white, while his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would burst.

Finally, Toothless shot out of the opening, skidding down the side of the rock onto a ledge. Hiccup slumped, his breath coming in huge gasps. They were safe for now, yet more trapped then ever. The lightning had stopped, but the rain still poured down, though the sky had lighted.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he saw two dark figures coming towards him.

"Hiccup, is that you?" he heard Astrid's voice.

Hiccup climbed off Toothless, but fell to his knees, moaning slightly. _We're saved. _"A-Astrid?" he croaked.

Hiccup felt lightheaded as Fishlegs and Astrid materialized out of the storm clouds in front of him.

"Hiccup!" Astrid jumped off Stormfly onto the ledge next to him. "Oh my gosh, you're alright! Thank Odin we found you!" She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him until he yelped in protest. She stepped back, then nearly shrieked. "Hiccup, _what happened to you_?"

"Long story," Hiccup said weakly.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks JesusFreak and Guest for reviewing! For your kindness, you both shall receive an imaginary ****chocolate bar****. :)**


	3. Epilogue

**A/N: And here it is, the final part of my short story, Island of the Lost. Thank you all for reading!**

**Jesusfreak (Guest): Thanks again for reviewing! I'm glad you like this! **

**Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank you for the review and fav!**

* * *

Hiccup sat in front of the fire in the Great Hall, clutching a cup of yak milk in his bandaged hands. The heat of the fire washed over his face, quickly drying his clothes and hair. Gobber had been able to quickly straighten out Hiccup's prosthetic, while Gothi, the village healer, took care of his injuries. The other teens were scattered around him, listening, as he told his story.

"... after Astrid and Fishlegs found me, Astrid rode Toothless back while I took Stormfly. The storm more mild the farther we got away from the awful island, until suddenly, it was sunny again."

"You got stuck in a flooding cave and almost died," Ruff breathed, leaning back on the palms of her hands. "Woah."

Hiccup nodded, and rubbed at the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "I try not to think about what could have happened. Astrid, Fishlegs, me and Toothless owe you are lives."

"Well, what did you think I'd do, stay here and do nothing?" Astrid snorted.

Fishlegs, who had been quiet up during the whole story, suddenly asked softly, "The tree had black apples, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Hiccup said slowly. "Why do you ask?"

"It, um, reminds me of a story I once was told, about that very island."

"Does it have tons of explosions in it?" Tuff asked eagerly.

"Just be quiet and listen for once in your life," Astrid snorted.

The Great Hall seemed to fall eerily silent as he began speaking. The snapping and crackling of flames, the grumbling of other Vikings; all faded away, replaced by images spun by Fishleg's words.

"A long time ago, a group of people were traveling when they found an island. It was beautiful back then; streams crisscrossed the land, trees bore luscious fruit, and grass grew plentifully.

"Well, naturally, the people decided to settle down and live on the island. They dwelt in comfort, everything they wanted at their fingertips. Their homes they carved out of the rock, where they would be sheltered from any storm."

"Almost any," Hiccup muttered, shivering.

"There was, however, one condition. Not long after the people had arrived, they had received a message saying they were not to eat of a certain tree. You see, this plant was sacred, a descendant of the great Yggdrasil itself, and anyone who disturbed it would be punished.

"One day, a young boy discovered the tree. He had been warned of the punishment that would befall, but he took no heed. He thought those who had warned him were keeping the tree for themselves, for the tree was very beautiful, bearing such apples that made all the other things of the island dull in comparison. The boy climbed the tree and stole fruit from its branches, thinking that nothing would come of his deeds. He was wrong.

"That night, a violent storm blew up, striking the trees and turning the grass to ash. The only tree left standing was the one the boy had stolen from. But its bark had turned as black as night, its apples as dark and deadly as poison.

"After that day, the people scattered. Arguments broke out as food became scarce, for everything was demolished. Men took their families and sailed away, never to be seen again. The island itself faded into myth and legend, but there are some that say whoever trespasses on that island will be struck down by lighting."

Astrid had been staring into the fire while Fishlegs was talking, but her gaze flickered to Hiccup, her brow furrowing. Hiccup felt a chill run through him at her next words.

"I remember this story. They say... they say that there is always a price for those who journey to the Island of the Lost."


End file.
